


Darkness Rising II: Lies and Corruption

by DonnyFire



Series: Darkness Rising [2]
Category: Legend of Spyro, Spyro the Dragon (Video Games)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Betrayal, Character Death, Character Development, Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Characters, Invasion, Major Character Injury, Original Character(s), Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-22 23:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23702203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonnyFire/pseuds/DonnyFire
Summary: Three months have passed since the defeat of the wolves. Warfang is still recovering as the secrets regarding its sacred heroes are slowly revealed. Spyro has returned, but something is wrong with the apes. They obtained a new power through a mysterious source. The New Dark Master has made his next move and Dawn, along with the new guardians, must fight for the safety of the city.
Relationships: Cynder/Spyro the Dragon
Series: Darkness Rising [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1331648





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! It's me, Donny!
> 
> Welcome to Darkness Rising: Lies and Corruption! Due to my failure to keep up to date, I have decided to re-write this specific story. There are going to be a lot of changes to fix some of the plot that was too convoluted to keep up with. That being said, I do want to apologize for my absence and I promise you that I will become better.
> 
> And so it begins...

_**Prologue** _

Warm candlelight shone from the desk. A mist of dread and melancholy spread throughout the room. A blanket of darkness covered the window as a familiar dragoness sat in her chair. The chair looked sturdy, supporting her with ease. At least, that is how it appeared to most. Like the dragoness sitting upon it, it was rickety and shaky, wobbling with the slightest movement. It appeared strong but was too good at hiding its weakness.

The dragoness pulled open a drawer and pulled out a notebook. It had a brown leather cover with thick papyrus attached to the spine. Flipping the notebook open and dipping her pen in a small ink bottle, the dragoness traced out her words:

_Day 97_

_Patient: Dawn_

_Today was just a normal day. Like the previous, the patient remained in bed for most of the time I was with him. When walking with him to the canteen, his back legs showed much improvement. He has regained most of the feeling in his lower body. Though, it's been this way for a couple of weeks. My patient is one of the guardian candidates and his hope is that he will make a full recovery. I've heard from him that the other candidates have started an intense training regiment and will be crowned the new guardians once the training is over._

The dragoness dipped the pen in the bottle of ink and started again.

_His mental state appears to be stable, from what I have seen. But, his spirit isn't what it used to be. Every day that passes, his eyes lose their glimmer and his shoulders droop a little lower. Because his condition will hamper his fighting capabilities, he refuses anything less than a FULL recovery. His pride and his perseverance are admirable, but spirit alone will not heal an injury such as this._

_As time goes on, even I am starting to lose hope. I thought I could heal him back to the way he used to be. But, I have failed my duty. If only she had taken me instead. If only...she..._

The young dragoness noticed that some of the ink was blotting. Then she realized why; tears were rolling her cheeks and falling from her eyes. Before staining the book any further, she wrote her final words.

_I hope he can forgive me._

_Written by: Amethyst_

She closed the book and tucked it back into the drawer. Pushing it closed, she laid her head down against her desk. She was no longer holding her tears back as she choked back a sob. About three months had passed, but almost nothing had changed with how she felt. Guilty riddled her heart like a vine, choking the life out of her. She could barely stand herself, let alone Dawn. Being around him made the vines grow ever tighter. And thanks to her ability to sense emotions, she only felt his sadness as it echoed through his soul.

As she stood up, she heard a gentle knock on her door. She pushed her chair out of the way and quietly walked towards the door. She grabbed and twisted the doorknob, allowing the door to creak open. She wasn't expecting anyone at this hour, so she needed to be a bit cautious. When she peeked through the crack, her eyes met a cloaked figure. It was impossible to see their face under their dark brown cloak.

"Hello, Amethyst."

Just within those two words, Amethyst recognized his voice. "Hi, Spyro. Is there something you need from me?"

His cloak flapped as a breeze flew by, "No, I just want to talk with you about-" Before he could finish, the door shut. It caught him a bit off guard. He knocked again but was greeted with the metallic sounds of Amethyst locking the door.

He sighed, "Amethyst, you've been like this for the past couple of weeks. Why won't you let me in? Do you still not trust me?" He leaned against the door, awaiting a response. All he received, however, was the silent treatment.

Spyro let out a heavy sigh and began to walk away. Obviously, now was not the time to talk with her. But because of her behavior as of late, there was almost never a good time to talk with her, especially with what happened with Cynder.

He had woken up the day after sleeping with Cynder for the first time in 13 years. But she was gone, and so was Sparx. He was so happy to see her again but it looked like it was just a dream. Despite that, he decided to tell Amethyst about it. She was quite furious with him, after all, Cynder was the reason Dawn could barely walk.

The plush snow crunched under his paws as he strolled down the white street. The house and cabins' lights had already been snuffed out and the night was all one could see. It was the only time of day that it was safe to leave the temple without fearing for his identity. Nobody but Amethyst and Cynder knew that he was alive. He wasn't sure about Sparx, though.

He stopped when he heard something strange. It was the crunching of snow, but it was almost a continuous sound, indicating a large group walking through the snow. Spyro could also guess that they were smaller than him by how loud the crunching was. The purple dragon glanced behind him.

There were about five cloaked individuals, ranging in size. All had yellow eyes that glowed from underneath their cloak hoods. One stepped forward, "Well, well, well. Looks like we caught ourselves a purple dragon."

Spyro had never met these strangers before, but something seemed familiar about them. Then, one of them laughed. The laugh had pure evil and a revolting tone written all over it. It was annoyingly familiar.

Then Spyro remembered where he had heard it. "I haven't heard a laugh like since my younger days. So, the apes have a new master? Or did your kind finally grow the balls to face the dragons without Malefor by their side?" He turned to face the disgusting creatures, "Either way, you're not supposed to be here. So I suggest you leave while your legs are still intact." The apes always left a sour taste in his mouth. They were the scum of the land and spineless cowards.

The biggest one laughed, "It looks like you still have some of that fire in you. I expected you to be washed up, but I'm glad you're not." His group of flunkies pulled out rugged blades and clubs, "That just means that this will be a lot more fun! Get em' boys!"

He let out a battle cry as the two smallest apes charged at him. Spyro wasted no effort and swung his tail at the assailants. He felt it impact them both as they were knocked unconscious immediately. The other two, average-sized apes started swinging their clubs at him. Because the weapons were so blunt, however, his wings blocked them easily. But the apes' persistence was not to be trifled with. Spyro knew this and was prepared for it.

The purple dragon felt his wings begin to tire out. He sharply raised his head, pushing the two apes back with his horns. They skidded back before charging back into the fray. With the time he created, Spyro took in a deep breath. Gathering up energy in his throat, he let loose a torrent of flame. It was large enough to engulf the two apes in flames but small enough to prevent damage to the buildings around him. The two apes screamed in agony as their fur began to crisp.

But the battle wasn't over. The biggest ape threw his cloak to the wind and pulled out a pair of crude dual shortswords. He sprinted towards Spyro; he grabbed his engulfed teammate and chucked him at Spyro. The purple dragon shot a small fireball at the corpse, blowing it into pieces. But as he did that, the ape pushed up and leaped in the air. He brought his blades above his head and swung as he landed. Spyro dodged to the right; the blade cut through his cloak. Though he remained unscathed, the ape was determined to change that.

As the ape landed, he lifted up his swords and started swinging at Spyro. Spyro was dodging each strike, but only barely. Despite what he said before, Spyro could tell that the ape had some skill in combat.

The ape threw swing after swing. He was relentless, "You said that we needed to grow some balls! You're one to talk! You abandoned your kind; and yet you still have the audacity to call us cowards?" His attacks were starting to become more aggressive. The blades started slicing faster and with more force. Spyro felt one of the blades scrap a scale off. If Spyro didn't end this fight right now, he would be skewered.

Then, he saw his opportunity. The ape pulled his swords back and swung both at his right side. Seeing his chance for victory, Spyro opened his mouth and caught both blades with his teeth. The ape felt his predicament and tried to pull his blades away, but Spyro had an iron grip on them. The purple dragon pulled on the blades and lifted them above his head. The ape yelled out as he was also thrown over Spyro's head with his swords. With much force, Spyro slammed him into the concrete, leaving a visible crack.

Spyro was almost out of energy, but he still had enough to finish the fight. The dual swords soon melted in the clasp of his jaw. He spat when he tasted the hot metal in his mouth. It didn't sting as much as it just left a sour taste in his mouth. The ape glared at his now melted swords in despair. He tried to stand to make a run for it, but an ice spike skewered his left foot. He cried out in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Spyro closed on his target and pointed his tail at him, "Now that we've finally calmed down a bit, I think I've changed my mind. Before I let you leave, I want to know everything about the new scheme your king must be planning."

The injured ape coughed up some blood. He was in no condition to fight back, "I-I'll never tell you...anything about...our new...friend!"

"Friend? So you do have a new master." The revelation was intriguing to Spyro. Who could the apes' new "friend" possibly be?

The ape laughed, "Master? No, he's just an ally. Unlike Malefor, he's given us free will and is willing to provide us with materials and equipment. Soon, the apes will be a force to be reckoned with and the dragons will be thrown to the slaughter. Just you wait!" Suddenly the ape reached out for the ice spike Spyro formed from earlier. He grabbed it and broke it off from the ground. Without hesitation and remorse, the ape stabbed himself in the center of his chest. It pushed it in deep till he felt it pierce his heart. the wound began to gush blood.

He laughed, " _iocuir wux persvek uoinota, wer darastrix di legend."_ His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his life finally came to an end. Spyro was shocked by the suicidal dedication that the ape had. It was almost admirable. But, nonetheless, he still tried to run away.

Spyro picked one of his blades, "Since you know the language of the dragons, I'll leave my own message." Using the sword as a kind of quill, Spyro traced his message into the ground. " _wer ergriff xiekiv wux geou qe ocuirir persvek uoinota ui dout z'ar 'partner'."_ Spyro threw the melted blade to the ground and started to walk away. But he noticed that some of the lights in the houses were coming back on. So he started to flap his wings and took off into the night sky.

...

It didn't take long for Spyro to arrive back at the temple. There was a small balcony on the right side of the temple, where Spyro's room was. He slowed his descent and landed with a muffled thud. His room was dimly lit with some candles and the closest thing he had to furniture was a small mat on the wooden floor. He shuffled his way to his mat, placing his ruined cloak on a hanger that was mounted on the wall.

As he sat down, a pain stung throughout his side. He hadn't checked for injuries, but there was a shallow cut wound around his midsection. It was also bleeding slightly. seeing that he couldn't just leave it, Spyro grabbed a metallic bar and a thick leather handle that was set off to the side. He held up the iron bar and used his remaining energy to form a small, blow-torch-like flame. He held the bar in flame, heating it into an orange-yellow color. Once he felt it was sufficiently heated, he cut the heat and bit down on the thick leather handle. Then he took the heated iron bar and carefully applied it against his wound. A sizzling sound filled the room as he sealed the wound. It was excruciatingly painful.

Once it was sealed, he threw bar away and spat out the leather handle. He collapsed and grunted in pain, "By the ancestors, that hurt like hell!" he looked at his now-closed wound; it was still steaming. he sighed, "I wish I had some red gems to heal with instead, but the only way I could get some is to but it from the merchants. I'll have to find other methods to heal my own injuries."

A knock came from the door to his quarters. Spyro glanced at the door as it started to creak open. He panicked, fearing his cover could be blown. Now was the worst time to barge in. He looked around the room to try and hide. He attempted to get up and leave through the balcony. However, a wave of pain rushed through his side.

Someone peeked their head in, "Master Kyron is everything alright? I thought I..." They froze, "Wait, you're not Kyron! Who are you?"

This was the worst-case scenario. The last thing Spyro needed was his identity reaching the public. He couldn't believe that he let himself be that careless.

Spyro sighed, "Luna, you always choose the worst time to barge in." He recognized the intruder. Her name was Luna and she was a student under his tutelage. She was one of his best students and had been under his wing for months.

She came in and closed the door, "Hold on, your scales are purple, but you definitely resemble Kyron. I don't know who you are, but how do you know my name?"

The purple dragons stood up, "Well, the answer to your question is actually quite simple. I know your name because we have interacted many times before. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, considering," Spyro turned to face her, "I am your teacher."

"My teacher...? Wait, K-Kyron is that actually you?!"

He smiled, "Yes, though that is not my actual name. I used to be known as Spyro about thirteen years ago, but I have changed with the times."

She nearly fainted from the shock, "Wait, you're THE Spyro? If that's true, then how long have you been hiding as Kyron?" Spyro rubbed his chin. It was hard to remember exactly when he arrived at the temple.

"Well, if I had to say, I've been here for about five years already." He was going to ask her another question. She yawned, showing all her white teeth. Spyro noticed, "I would tell you more about my journey to get here, but it appears that it's a bit late. Let's both get a good night's sleep, then we can talk about this in the morning."

Luna was about to leave when she saw Spyro's cloak. She noticed that it was ripped in half. Without saying a word, she started towards the cloak. She reached out and grasped the cloak with one of her paws. She closed her eyes and focused her mind on the fabric. She could feel the essence of what used to be a part of the cloak lingering to it. She focused her elemental energy into that very essence and it began to take form. Once she felt the essence dissipate, she opened her eyes.

The cloak was no longer damaged and looked brand new. She turned towards Spyro, "Sorry, your cloak was ruined and I couldn't help myself."

He chuckled, "It's fine. I honestly forgot that you have the ability to fix any inanimate objects that you touch. Anyways, please go to bed, young one. Training starts early for you.'

"W-Wait! Training?! Why am I the only one?!"

He smiled, "The guardians are expecting you at your best. If you don't train, then your chances of becoming a part of the elite guard will go up in smoke!"

She groaned, "Ugh, fine! I'm going to bed now! Good night Kyro- Oh! I mean Spyro!" She started toward the door. But she quickly ran over and hugged Spyro before leaving the room. He was smiling right up till she closed the door and all went silent. He laid down with a somber look on his face. It was cold, too cold. It had been a long time since he had attempted to lay down and rest. Meditation had been his go-to during his years at the temple.

But, he wanted to try it. One. More. Time.


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 1 **

The morning light shone through the window. The outside of the window was frozen over with ice and showed signs of its old age. Inside, Dawn was laying on his back on his bed, covered with a woolen blanket. His right hind leg was propped up and he was sprawled out.

He started to wake up, opening his eyes and letting out a yawn. He set himself up, stretching his paws out above his head. He felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate through several audible pops. He started going through some exercises; he started by trying to move his tail and his legs. As expected, they each responded reliably. But the test was when he pulled himself out of bed. he was slow as to not let himself fall. His hindlegs touched the ground, but when he put weight on his right, it buckled. He fell forward, but he caught his fall with his front paws.

He growled, "Dammit! I thought I had it this time!" This morning has been the norm for the past month. Dawn performs these exercises in hopes of fully recovering from his encounter with his mother, Cynder. The injuries he suffered were numerous, a scar across his chest and lower back being the most noticeable. One of his smaller horns had also broken off, leaving nothing but a stub.

In the corner of the room, there were two small wooden stilts with two straps. Dawn grabbed one and sat back down on the bed. He slipped his disabled right hind leg through the straps. He tightened the straps before slipping off the bed. The stilt supported him and he began to walk over to the door. He opened the door and quietly left his cabin, heading towards Amethyst's cabin to check on her.

It was chilly as always, but ever since the incident, it's felt different to Dawn ever since. He felt more sensitive to the chilly air; even the tiniest breeze made his scales stand on end. He didn't tell Amethyst about it, but it was something that kept bothering him. On a morning like these, he and Amethyst would head to the canteen to eat breakfast together. Other than the chatter from the other customers, it was relatively quiet between the two. But it wasn't a good type of quiet, it was the nervous kind. They had no idea what to say to each other.

As he walked by, he heard the laughter from a group of dragons that were walking by. They were all quite young, about his age. It was a large group and there was someone who stood out from the rest. It was a male dragon with black scales that faded into red when it reached his paws. He had four horns, two on top of his head and two on the back. He seemed to be the popular dragon, considering his large entourage. But, for a couple of seconds, his eyes met Dawn's gaze. It was a hate-filled expression that could pierce any soul. He was smiling but his eyes told an entirely different story. Though Dawn noticed this, he ignored it and continued down the street.

It wasn't long till he reached Amethyst's cabin. It was hard to tell, but the lights in the cabin were off; so she was still asleep. Dawn walked up to the front and knocked lightly, "Amethyst, are you awake?"

No response. He knocked again, "Amethyst, are you there?"

Yet again, no response. He groaned, "I didn't really want to use the extra key she gave me, but I need to see if she's okay." He pulled out a key from a little pouch he took with him before he left. He inserted the key into the door and it unlocked with a click. He opened the door and peeked inside.

Surprisingly, the candle from last night was still lit, though it was basically an ember. Her room was surprisingly neat and organized. Then, he noticed her. She was sitting at her desk, her face resting against the hard, wooden surface. She was sound asleep.

Dawn quietly walked over, being careful not to arouse her from her slumber yet. Once he was close enough, he raised a paw to gently wake her up when he noticed something else sitting on her desk. It was a book and it was still open. It piqued his curiosity and he picked it up instead. It was a book regarding medical practices and the chapter she was reading was titled _"How to Treat Physical Disabilities."_ He also noticed there were notes written in the margin of the book.

He couldn't believe it. She had been doing this much research for him. He looked at her; there were clear bags under her eyes, but her breathing was soft and surprisingly soothing. It made Dawn feel even worse; taking care of him was putting her through all this stress and it appears to have caught up to her.

He wanted to move her to her bed, but that would likely wake her up. Leaving her there was the best option; she clearly needed the rest.

After putting the candle out, he quietly left the room. Closing the front door, he started towards the canteen to get his breakfast. He felt his stomach growl in response to his hunger. It took a couple of minutes of walking down the streets before he reached the canteen. Disappointingly, it was an open-air canteen, so there was no escaping the cold weather. But the heat coming from the kitchen sufficed for most.

Dawn walked up to the counter, avoiding eye contact with the other customers. They were mostly dragons, all learning under Kyron. This was the canteen where the students of Kyron received discounts on their meals. And since Dawn was crippled, he received an even bigger discount on top of the student discount. Dawn looked at the chef and ordered some lamb chops; they were some of his favorite foods. The chef nodded as he yelled at the kitchen to start preparing his order.

As he waited, Dawn caught something out of the corner of his eye. The large group from before was here as well. They were all sitting in the same general area; they looked like they were having a good time. Then, Dawn noticed someone. It was the black dragon from before; he was talking to the group, but he was staring daggers at Dawn. Whoever this dragon was, he clearly holds some kind of grudge. But like before, Dawn turned his back and ignored him.

The chef came back with a fresh plate of hot and delicious lamb chops. Dawn took the plate enthusiastically and placed two gold coins on the table. The chef took the coins and pocketed them. Dawn turned around and started heading towards an empty table. He was about halfway there when he heard someone call out to get his attention.

"Hey, you!" He stopped and glanced where the noise was coming from. He wasn't shocked to see that it was the black dragon from before. He was standing up and looking directly at Dawn.

Dawn sighed, "What do you want?"

The black dragon stalked towards him, "You're that new dragon that showed a couple of months ago, right? If you are, well, the boys and I were wanting to see just how tough you are. After all, we also heard that you're one of the guardian candidates. So what do you say?" This dragon was pushing his luck.

Dawn was not interested, "Sorry, but I don't feel like playing this game with you. I'm just here to eat something, now leave me alone." Dawn was going to walk away. Then, the dragon swiped his plate, knocking it to the ground and shattering it.

He laughed, "I'm not interested in what you want. I rule this academy and when I ask you to fight, you fight!"

Dawn was struggling to keep his cool, "You...you're really starting to piss me off!" He shoved the dragon away, "I want nothing to do with you! Leave me alone, or I'll make you regret it!"

The dragon's posse was whispered and gossiping behind him. The dragon turned and growled at them, "Be quiet!" The entire group of dragons went quiet. Whoever this guy was, the others were easily intimidated by him. He glanced back at Dawn, "You won't make me regret anything. Instead of complaining, maybe you should just fight and shut me up!"

"Fine!" Dawn had enough, "If you want me to kick your ass and hand it to you, I'll happily do so!"

The dragon smiled, "Now that's more like it! Follow me and I'll take you to the sparring grounds. Then, we'll finally see if you live up to the rumors!" The dragon started to walk away but stopped, "Oh, and just so you can address me when you lose, my name is Blaze. Now, let us be on our way."

...

It took about ten minutes to reach the local sparring grounds. The field was made up of several plots, all sectioned off to differentiate between fields. It was pretty much empty, only dust traveling across the dirt. The dirt was rough and bare from the constant use, though the snow was slowly creeping its way back onto it.

Blaze took a left, walking onto one of the bigger battlefields. His confidence was overbearing. He bragged, "Back when classes were still session, there was a rule that all of the students knew. If you step on the turf that we're standing on now, I fight you!" His voice echoed over the barren field.

Dawn was unfazed, "Are you going keep standing there and beating your chest? Or you going to shut up and fight?" This boasting was starting to get on his nerves. So far, nothing Blaze had done indicated he was a strong fighter. But, Dawn knew that Blaze had been likely been training longer than him. If he wanted to win, he would have to lean on his element.

Blaze growled, "Fine, if you want to get ass kicked so badly, then let's get to it." The two dragons were now interlocked in combat and began to circle the field. Dawn had a slight limp from his stilted leg and Blaze seemed to notice. He smiled before pushing himself off the ground and charging Dawn. He barely had enough time to dodge Blaze's attack. Whoever this guy, he was no pushover.

Blaze used his claws to stop himself, leaving long scratch marks in the dirt. He tried again, controlling his speed. He stopped in front of Dawn quickly swung his tail. It was too fast to duck under, so Dawn took a scratch to the face. Then, Blaze used his claws: swiping, punching, and scratching at Dawn. He could barely keep up, blocking only a few attacks. He couldn't take anymore as he strongly flapped his wings, unleashing a strong wind gust and pushing his attacker back.

He stopped himself, "Ooooh! I get it now!" He had a twisted smirk on his face, "Your element is wind and by the way you fought, you haven't had any close combat training. What a disappointment."

Dawn succeeded in keeping his cool. Besides, he had Blaze right where he want him. Before Blaze could charge, the wind hit him again but from his side. Somehow, it was stronger than the previous gust. It almost knocked him over.

Blaze struggled to keep his balance, "The hell!" he whispered to himself, "How is a puny dragon able to muster such powerful elemental abilities? He's had no training! Unless..." Obviously, Dawn was more of a threat than he bargained for. He was done wasting time. He let out his elemental energy and launched a fireball. It was a clear shot.

Dawn smiled, "So he's a fire dragon? That's just bad luck." As the fireball approached, it suddenly swerved off to the side, just barely missing Dawn.

"What?!" Blaze was in shock. "Dammit! How is this possible? He's learned how to redirect fire all on his own?!" He was livid, how could a scrawny weakling like Dawn know how to do something like that?"

Blaze cursed to himself, "This is bad. Kyron always told us that some dragons are more in tune with their element than others. This rookie might be one of the lucky few." He took a deep breath. He couldn't accept the fact that he let someone like Dawn get to him. Wind can only control the fire if it's small enough. "I bet he hasn't tried to control anything bigger than a fireball. So, let's see if he can handle an inferno!"

Letting his energy pool into one attack, he jumped into the air and unleashed his inferno. The large fireball was too big to re-direct. Dawn had no choice but to attempt to stop it completely.

Gathering his elemental energy, Dawn felt the wind begin to pick up speed. As it did, the flames began to bend to the wind, obeying its every whim. Soon, the fire completely lost its momentum, freezing in mid-air.

"I did it! I actually stopped it!"

Suddenly. something came sprinting on the ground underneath the fire! Blaze used the fire as a distraction and had landed. He was charging at Dawn! "You fell for it!" This was not good. Dawn was still focusing on restraining his inferno. If Dawn didn't let go of the inferno, he would be at Blaze's mercy. He was about to release his hold on his elemental energy when he realized something. The fire was above them; if he let it go, it would come crashing down on them both! He had to make a choice: release the fireball to defend himself and let it hit him or continue to push it back and take the hit.

Blaze was ecstatic, "This match is over!" He reared back his paw to deliver the final punch. Dawn had no choice. Then, an impact was made. Blaze was still smiling as his paw made contact with Dawn's face, he went flying back, skidding across the rough turf.

"Ha! Was that really all you got? I'm a bit disappointed, all that talk and you couldn't back it up." Blaze thought he had won, but then he noticed something. Dawn was getting to his feet.

There was a line of blood from the corner of his mouth dripping down his cheek. "You're strong, I'll admit that. And you're right, I can't win. It's taking almost all of my effort and concentration to keep your little inferno in the air.

Blaze eyes widened and jerked his head behind him. He couldn't believe his eyes. The fireball he had launched earlier was still suspended in the air.

"No way...the rookie took a punch to the face and it didn't break his concentration. You have to be made of stern stuff to do that!"

He glanced back at Dawn, who was smiling, "Yeah, I don't think I can hold this thing anymore." Dawn watched as the fireball resumed. It came crashing down on the battlefield and made contact with the ground, engulfing Blaze.

Dawn felt a bit guilty; he wasn't actually planning on dropping the fireball on Blaze, but he did run out of energy. He pulled himself to his feet when he noticed that the stilt on his leg was broken. "Great, I won't be able to walk back to the canteen." But then, he heard something. It sounded like...laughing? There was no mistaking it; someone found this fight funny. It was only at that point when he noticed the silhouette leaving the flames.

It was Blaze, and he was completely unharmed. He had a smirk, "Damn, rookie. That wasn't a bad move. I think I'm starting to like you."

Dawn was confused, "But, h-how are you alive?"

"Man, you really are clueless. A fire dragon wouldn't be a very good fire dragon if they weren't almost completely fireproof, now would they?" It did make sense, dropping that fireball had no effect on him. "But hell, if you didn't try to win! That got my heart pumping! Very few rookies could actually stand up to me as you did! Not to mention that you're a cripple too." He walked up to Dawn and held out his paw. Though hesitant, Dawn still took it and Blaze pulled him to his feet.

He pulled Dawn's paw over his neck when a new voice entered the fray, "What the hell are you doing here?" Blaze turned around, regretting that he didn't realize that she would be watching him. The voice came from a dragoness who had a mixture of black and white scales. Her eyes were ruby red.

Blaze groaned, "Luna, should've known that you would be stalking us."

She scoffed, "Actually I was taking a walk until a giant fireball showed up on the sparring field! I've told you this before but we aren't allowed to use the fields without Kyron's permission. You of all people should know that rule." From what Dawn could hear, she was very strict with following the rules. She must hold a lot of respect for Kyron to follow those rules.

Blaze was getting tired of this, "Listen, how about you stop bitching and keep walking? I'm never going to get stronger if I don't fight the best!"

"If you want to fight so bad, then go fight somewhere else! And as for you," she addressed Dawn, "I don't know who you are but I just want to know why you were fighting Blaze in the first place."

Dawn could feel her tense stare, "The truth is I didn't really want to fight him. But, I needed to stand up for myself," Dawn glared at Blaze, "especially when he decided to ruin my breakfast!"

She sighed, "Blaze, just head back home. I'll take care of your buddy."

"Hmph, fine with me." With no warning, he let go of Dawn's arm, letting fall to the floor face first.

"Ack!" Dawn felt a sharp pain as he fell on his nose. Blaze just shrugged before taking off of the ground. Luna walked to Dawn before helping him up. Like Blaze, she supported his weight with her own. Once he was settled they started their little walk back to the canteen.

She asked a question, "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

Dawn coughed, trying to expel some of the dust and smoke he inhaled, "My name *cough* is Dawn. And you?"

"My name is Luna. If you didn't figure out yet, I did see that fight between you and Blaze. I have to say, I'm surprised. Though your attack didn't have any effect on him, very few rookies have caught him off guard like that." It felt weird for Dawn to receive all these compliments from the other students. The thing that he kept thinking about was that he lost. No matter how he looked at it; the fight was one-sided. He thought had a major advantage, but he was actually at a major disadvantage. The moment Blaze got close to him, the match was over.

She continued, "But, I can tell you don't have a lot of combat experience. The way you used your element was a bit wasteful and your close-quarter combat was abysmal. I know it sounds harsh, but I'm just being honest."

Rather than waste his breath, Dawn just remained silent. Everything she had to say, he already knew. His ability was awakened three months ago, but he had no formal training with it. The problem was he couldn't find anyone to help him; very few wind dragons ever master the element. He had been looking for a teacher for three months, but his confinement to the village made his search impossible.

The canteen was within sight and they continued until they reached its open confines. The group of dragons was gone and there were only three to four dragons eating alone. the kitchen was still open, but closing time was almost here.

"Come on," she kept, "Let's get you something to eat before they close. "

As he ordered the same thing he had before, this time she paid for his meal. He insisted that he could pay for it and but she thought he had paid enough.

"Don't you need to eat breakfast?"

She smiled, "No, I had my breakfast in the temple."

His jaw dropped, "They serve breakfast in the temple? Why are we not allowed to eat there?"

"Only a select few are allowed to eat with Kyron: only his best students."

Dawn took a bite out of the lamb chop as he was sitting at the table. The food was so delicious; nothing else topped what the canteen served. But something was bothering him and it had to do with Luna. He could see that he was clearly one of Kyron's best students, but why had she taken an interest in him and helped him. The only way to find out was to ask.

"So tell me; why did you help me get here? I know that you want something from me; what is it?"

She smiled, "You're a sharp one: very perceptive. It's true that I do want you to do something for me. But I don't think it's as bad you think it is."

He scoffed, "Try me."

"Okay. I mentioned your combat inexperience earlier; I wish to rectify that. " She held out a paw. "I want to take you under my wing and teach you how to fight."

Dawn was taken aback. When she said that she wanted something, he thought she meant like money or a favor. But this was different. This was something that would highly benefit him and prepare for going back to Warfang. But something was still nagging at him.

"I...I would love to take you up on your offer but...I'm not sure if Amethyst would be okay with it. After all, I haven't fully recovered from my leg injury."

She was more than understanding, "That's fine. We don't have to teach you close-quarters combat first. I could help gain better control over your element first. That shouldn't take long though, because you seem to have a strong natural connection to it anyways. All it needs is some refining."

He wasn't sure what to say, "I...I don't know. I'm not sure what Amethyst would think about this."

She leaned, "Listen, I can tell this Amethyst is important to you, but you can't let her control you. Whether she likes it or not, you want to get stronger and this is the only way you can do it."

She was making a lot of sense. He wasn't getting stronger by sitting here and doing nothing. As long as he didn't anything to hurt his leg, he would be fine, right?

He pushed his anxiety aside, "Alright, I'll do it." With that, he reached out and shook her paw.

She smiled again, "We have ourselves a deal. We'll start your training tomorrow night. Meet by the sparring grounds after Amethyst has gone to bed, so you don't raise any suspicions."

"Got it!"


End file.
